Save Me
by Reda
Summary: It was just another island adventure gone wrong. Now Nami's gone and it's up to the Monster Trio to save her. Can Zoro find the way? Can Sanji trust his heart? Can Luffy keep his sanity when the hallucinations threaten to tear them apart?
1. Chapter 1

**Author Notes:** This is a lil different from the normal things you see around here. There are a lot of original characters, because I made up a whole freakin' island. It's a very fantasy-esque type of story and involves furries of the hybrid variety. (Wolf-ish)

**Disclaimer:** One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda. I do not own anything related to One Piece. The island and all the original characters belong to me.

**Setting: **After Sky Island, I guess maybe, probably sometime around that filler in the marine base.

**Warnings: **There will be torture & rape in later chapters, which is why it's rated M, as well as hallucinations and creepy dreams. [OOC is not intended at all through any part of this; I do my best, though looking back I think Nami's a bit weak but I tried ~]

**Pairings: **Nothing outright, honestly, and if I say the intended pairing, I'd give away half the fun. It's either SanNa, ZoNa, or LuNa, but all are made out to be possibilities.

~!~

Save Me

~!~

Chapter 1: Chaos and the Unexpected

~!~

_Only such a melody_

_Comes without a sound_

~!~

Nami looked around the village, trying to ignore the odd feeling that something was out of place. They had landed on the island with the intent of restocking their supplies before they continued on their journey, but there seemed to be an absence of people. No, that wasn't it. There were plenty of people, but something was definitely missing.

She looked around again, noting the fountain in the center of the main village square - a typical layout. An elderly lady, shrouded in a hooded cloak, sat on a bench beside the fountain, feeding bread to the dark birds, her cane propped up against the empty seat beside her. A couple stood beside the fountain, but they were hooded as well, and the young woman had a hand on the edge, her posture indicating…regret?

Nami shrugged. Nothing was out of place. Nothing was strange. She should just relax.

Luffy was enjoying himself, after all. The native birds were bigger than they were used to, and a creamy dark blue color as well. He was making a game of running around the fountain, forcing the birds up into the air, but they would simply land again and peck at the multitude of bread crumbs. Luffy would pause and look back, seeing that they were back on the ground, and he would turn around and repeat the process. All while enjoying himself because of some strange childish part of his brain that enjoyed such things.

Chopper was juggling two things at once: apologizing to the birds and shouting at Luffy to leave things be. Usopp ended up joining Luffy and the two ran in separate directions, trying to keep the birds up in the air but still failing.

Robin had separated herself from the crew when they first entered the village, as had Sanji. Robin was exploring the small library and bookstore, and Sanji had meandered off to buy more food supplies - their ship could never have too much food.

Zoro was beside her, strangely enough not wandering around on his own and getting lost. Or sleeping.

She heard the blade click out of its sheath, ready to release, and that set off her warning bells. Turning to him, she noted the set frown on his mouth, but that was normal; he rarely smiled. And his eyebrows were always down and looking angry. Always unpleasant.

Nothing was out of place.

So why did she have an ominous feeling? Like something bad was about to happen?

She heard Zoro's blade click back into its sheath and she glanced at him as he shook his head and crossed his arms. But still, he didn't move. Still, his eyes were flicking around, trying to watch every angle at the same time.

His eyes twitched their way to hers, but he said nothing, just stared. "Zoro," she whispered.

His eyes seemed to narrow and look away, but he nodded his head, as if to say _'I'm listening.'_ She shivered as the wind rustled through the village, kicking up leaves. Bringing her fingers to her bare arms, she wished she had brought her jacket, realizing she had misread the weather - it wasn't supposed to be this chilly.

"This village…there's something…" she muttered, clenched her teeth at her inability to explain it.

Because there was nothing wrong. Nothing. She was just imagining and wanting the swordsman to tell her everything was okay. Wanting the observant fighter to reassure her that the village was normal and there was no reason to worry.

"It feels wrong," he muttered instead.

Which didn't help. At all.

She felt the chill spiral up her back and her fingers clench into the skin at her arms. She caught Luffy and Usopp's laughter - they had apparently run into each other, startling the birds around them.

"Oh! Suke!" Luffy cried in amazement, as a bird landed on his head and another one landed on Usopp's nose.

Her captain was having fun. She shouldn't be worried. But Luffy wasn't a normal captain; he was a boy, too much of a boy sometimes. He _was_ someone she could rely on, but he wasn't the most observant. And yet, he was. Luffy was so hard to explain. Sometimes she felt completely safe around him, and at other times she wanted Zoro there to catch the "feel" of the air. Luffy could do it, too, she was sure, but he was too carefree to be expected to warn the others.

Luffy was too much of a child.

And then it hit her. The thing that was missing. This village had no children.

She stared at Zoro, who had noticed her intake of breath and was now staring at her, his eyes curious. "Shouldn't every village have children playing?"

He blinked and looked around quickly, as she finally pinned down the object of her worry. Every person was shrouded, either under their own hooded cloak or underneath shade of some sort. There were no children. No pets. No animals other than the birds.

The town was too damn quiet. If Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper hadn't been playing, she would have noticed it sooner. The usual background noises: the buzz of insects, of conversation, of _life_ - it was all…muted. Strangely so.

Nami was staring at a hooded man hanging around nonchalantly by a building, a few steps away from Zoro. When the swordsman clicked his blade out of his sheath, the hooded man moved forward and made a gesture; looking around herself, she saw a group suddenly appear all around them. She wasn't sure if Zoro had noticed, or if he had just felt the change, but his hand was now on the hilt, ready to pull his swords free at a moment's notice.

Biting her lip, Nami reached out and put her hand on his arm, near the wrist. He instantly spun to her, his glare making it obvious he was not happy with her decision. "What are you doing?" He hissed.

She held her ground. The hooded men hadn't moved. In fact, when she had stopped Zoro from taking the blade out, they had stepped back. Perhaps they were only a strange set of guards. "Nothing's happened yet. You can't go terrorizing the village just because it feels wrong."

His lips pouted out, but he didn't relent. "I wasn't going to terrorize anybody as long as _nothing_," he put the emphasis on the word she had so chosen, "continues to happen."

She gripped her nails into his wrist, smirking when she watched his eyebrows twitch. "Don't take it out unless I say so. This is obviously a tense diplomatic issue. To them, we're strangers, and you probably scared them with your 'Demon Pirate Hunter' title. Leave it to me."

She watched as his teeth grinded against each other; she could almost see the conflict within himself at being told to hold back, at being unwilling to lose to her and yet convincing himself she was right. Because she was; she was always right. And he probably hated admitting defeat, but it was such a small thing and he would be ready to jump to the rescue if she _was_ wrong.

"Fine, but I doubt that title reached this far into the Grand Line," he huffed, massaging his wrist as soon as it was free from her sharp nails.

The sword clicked back into place and Nami noticed the number of hooded strangers had grown smaller. She turned a smile to Zoro, feeling relief because she was pretty sure she had this place figured out. Maybe the tense, ominous vibes were only because she had been standing next to the one person in their crew who could scare people away with a twisted grin.

"Hey, Zoro, why don't you go look for Sanji for me?" She smiled sweetly at him, doubting it would work but wanting to try anyway. Maybe if she could separate herself from the evil-looking swordsman she could approach one of the villagers without fear of being skewered.

"Huuuuh?"

She laughed, both at his expression and at herself for suggesting he go look for the crew member he fought with almost twenty-four seven. "I need to make sure he buys some certain ingredients so he can make something I've been craving for weeks; I don't want him to forget now that we're finally at a village that may have what I'm looking for."

She watched his eye twitch, loving the way he stood there fighting the pull to do her bidding; he always was a hard one to convince. "Why don't you just do it yourself?"

"But I need to stay and watch over Luffy," she mumbled, gesturing to their childish captain, who was now mimicking the birds, getting laughter out of both Usopp and Chopper.

Zoro clenched his teeth at that. "I can protect him just fine; that's not your job, witch."

_This_ made her angry. She felt the heat rise and she shoved her arms down, hands clenched into fists. "Then consider it payment, seeing as you still owe me for those swords you bought back in Loguetown!"

"But I didn't-"

"You promised to pay me back three times the amount, didn't you?" She hissed.

She watched him tense up; she never had figured out why he tensed so at the mere mention or thought of breaking a promise. She probably never would understand the swordsman. But she did like how it made him curse and run off, sending empty death threats her way as he fell in line.

Nami took a breath and cooled herself off, turning her attention to the building where the leader of the village guard was standing - well, her supposed guess of a leader, at least. She walked over to him, intending to get information out of someone on this strange village one way or another. She smiled when she was standing under the shade right in front of the stranger, but her smile faltered when she looked up into golden eyes.

"So, you want our secrets, little navigator?" The stranger grated out, sounding smug.

She blinked, finding herself suddenly surrounded by the hooded villagers, one of which had a hand over her mouth and nose before she could scream. Not just a hand. A cloth, and a strange smell. Dog? No, something else.

And…

Her last thought before unconsciousness claimed her was a gripe aimed at Zoro for leaving her alone, and a gripe aimed at herself for forcing her protection away.

~!~

_More than faintly heard by those_

_Who know what they have found_

~!~

Zoro cursed the orange-haired witch to hell and back again as he jogged through the village, checking each building he came to in search of the perverted cook. What the hell was he going to say when he did find the cook? _'Nami wants you. No I am not a messenger dog, pervert cook. I just came to find you because I wanted to…No, that came out wrong. How about…'_

"Oi, marimo, what the hell are you doing?"

He froze, cursing Nami again as he met the eyes of the pervert-cook he had been sent to find. The bastard had such a smug grin on his face, though it was partially hidden around the cigarette and the smoke in the air at the moment. Apparently, the little shop wasn't equipped with the space to handle a smoker in-doors.

"Aho cook, take your smoke elsewhere."

Sanji just raised an eyebrow. "You came and searched for me just to lecture me on my smoking habits?"

Zoro felt his teeth grind together. "No! I came to…I…" He would not admit to being forced to do Nami's bidding. That was something the cook did willing, not Zoro, not the swordsman. Sanji was Nami's little hound, not him. "Dammit," he cursed again. "That witch can go to hell for all I care."

He barely saw Sanji's lip twitch into a frown. He definitely saw the cook's black leg move. And he was in the process of crouching down, ready to defend against the incoming attack, when the window by the shop's door - behind him - decided to be smashed into little glass fragments.

Sanji stopped his attack mid-swing, and Zoro pulled Wadou out as he spun around to face the direction of the danger. Then the fire started.

"Shit," he heard Sanji curse, and just as he was going to run outside to safety, he turned to see the cook trying to grab the several bags of food he had already purchased.

The fire, on the other hand, was spreading fast, already having trapped the cook in a circle of fire. Feeling the heat of the flames himself, Zoro cursed, sheathed Wadou, and rushed deeper into the flames to help the cook with the "oh so important" food. They just had to be inside a wooden building and just so happened to be in the village when it was undergoing an attack raid.

At least the shop was small and not two story or hiding a basement. Things could always be worse. Especially where the pervert-cook was involved.

He saw more than heard Sanji cough as the smoke started to become a problem, but when the cook turned toward him with a huge bag slung over his shoulder, Zoro knew Sanji would never admit to even such an understandable weakness. Even though the faded look in the cook's eyes indicated a severe lack of air and therefore lack of strength.

Gritting his teeth against the burns forming on his skin, Zoro ploughed forward through the flames and grabbed the cook around the arm, hauling him back to the exit, smashing through the already weak wood without a problem. There was no time to think of pain or to make sure the shop owner made it out - where had that man disappeared to anyway?

As soon as they were outside again, they were plunged into a battle for their lives. Glancing around the village courtyard, Zoro made note of his other nakama and their current problems. Usopp was the only one he could see fighting, shooting flaming pachinko in a consistent, steady pace, but none of them were taking out the attackers.

Which had Zoro blink in slight confusion when he noticed who the raiding party - or rather, _what_ - they were. Humanoid but with wolf-like features. All had long dark hair, most decorated with tribal ornaments tied into the thick clumps. But there were also dog ears poking from that dark hair, twitching in time with their movements. And he could even see some bushy tails poking out from the gray or brown cloaks they _all_ wore.

"Oi, marimo, if I have to dream something weird, why do you have to be here, too?" Sanji quipped from behind him.

The cook was on his feet, his back to Zoro's, looking in the other direction. Another cigarette was being lit and puffed on as the two of them surveyed the area.

"Tch, only you would dream something this weird into your already perverted nightmares," Zoro muttered back, unsheathing his swords, placing Wadou in his mouth and the other two in their respective hands.

He had noticed why Usopp seemed to be the only one fighting. Chopper and Luffy were entangled in each other on the ground, both acting like they were being encased in seastone. Damn devil fruit weakness. And where the hell was that witch?

"Incoming," Sanji warned and out of the corner of his eye, he saw the cigarette go flying to the ground.

Just before the cook sprang forward, using Zoro's back as leverage for his spring, making the swordsman grunt in slight annoyance. Usopp's blood-curdling scream kept Zoro from charging into the fight himself. He took a step and froze, feeling the air turn from the sticky hot caused by the several burning buildings; a chill settled over his body, a cold so deep his mind thought of the winter island where they had met Chopper, and the winter swimming for endurance training he had done.

Closing his eyes, he pushed the cold to the back of his mind and focused on finding the source. Usopp screamed again, but it wasn't a shriek of pain, it was the sharp-shooter trying to shout a warning. The ground shook as something moved, and then Sanji let out a cry.

Zoro spun around to face the mystery attacker only to find himself opening his eyes to pain and blackness and a last thought of _"what the hell?"_

~!~

_End Chapter 1_

~!~

_A/N: This was definitely meant to be more romance driven at first, but it turned into a fantasy type story. And this chapter was meant to be longer, but I decided to split it because it was going to be too long… and I prefer having my chapters around 3000 words. Let me know what you think so far!_


	2. Chapter 2

**Author Notes:** Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah (Translation: I am a Zoro fan, and it definitely shows with the point-of-view-choices of this chapter, but I am trying my best to give the others screen time too.) Mmf, there isn't much of a fight scene, but I did /try/ to lengthen it. And I was going to stick with Luffy/Zoro/Sanji/Nami point-of-view only but the others popped out of my fingers before my mind could catch them. Ah well. Rounds things out a bit, I guess.

**Disclaimer:** One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda. I do not own anything related to One Piece. The island and all the original characters belong to me.

**Warning: **"If you are under the age of 18 and you haven't heard the word fuck before. Well, you have now." (A lil' stolen clip from TFS: DBZ Abridged…I think.)

~!~

Save Me

~!~

Chapter 2: Of Okami and Strangers

~!~

_I was born of the womb of a poisonous spell…_

~!~

Usopp felt his heart beating a million times a minute, as he sat on his knees, arms stretched before him, leaning forward as the great big demon of a creature all but destroyed two of the three most powerful of his nakama. He didn't know what to do; he didn't know what to think.

The creature - a large wolf the size of a two-story building - was standing with one overgrown paw pressing down on Zoro. The swords had already been flung out of reach, one of them landing close enough for Usopp to grab if he moved just a few inches forward. Golden eyes were fixed on the swordsman, who was most definitely unconscious now - which is what really had Usopp worried.

Zoro? Unconscious in one blow?

That was so far from the swordsman's capabilities, it had Usopp frozen more in shock than in fear. Though the fear was definitely starting to creep up - he could feel it shaking through his legs already.

Beside him, Luffy moaned. "Oi, Usopp." The voice was quiet. Way too quiet for Luffy.

He kept his eyes on the giant black-haired wolf, wincing when the paw pressed down on Zoro's chest again and the swordsman seemed to sink into the ground. Why would the damn thing just keep attacking when its target was already unresponsive? Was Zoro perhaps only on the edge of consciousness, ready to come back? _'That's completely possible. Zoro doesn't stay out for long unless it's really bad.'_

"Usopp," Luffy whispered again, his voice harsh.

Glancing over, the sharp-shooter blinked. Luffy had a glazed look in his eyes, like a film had been put over them, covering the world from his sight. Usopp watched as his captain lifted a hand and grasped at air, passing through the smoke that enveloped the area. Luffy looked so… so… _so weak_.

He shivered. He didn't want to admit it; didn't want to even think such a thing.

"Oi, Luffy, snap out of it," he said.

And then the wolf growled.

He snapped his head up to meet the golden eyes of the monster, feeling the fear crack through every other feeling. The wolf had noticed him, and everything around had gone quiet. The wolf-eared humanoids had backed away earlier, stepping back from the village annihilation as soon as the giant creature had made its appearance. There was no one out here except the Strawhats, and the giant wolf.

He felt like he was in a stare-off. His legs were shaking badly. His heart was pumping way too fast to be healthy. The wolf was still, growling deep in its throat but otherwise still. The village was quiet. The smoke was settling. The air was stiff.

He could hardly breathe as he brought himself up to his feet. One foot at a time, shaking all the way. He raised his slingshot, preparing an attack that he knew would hit and do nothing.

Luffy was down, as was Chopper, without doing anything. Something in the area was affecting the devil fruit users strangely, making his usually reliable captain completely useless. Sanji had already tried to fight and been tossed to the side. Zoro was out of commission in one hit and being kept down. Robin was no where to be seen, but was more than likely in the same condition as the other two devil fruit users. And Nami… Nami was missing.

So it was up to him. Captain Usopp's time for glory.

He gulped, pulling the string back. _Here it goes…_

"USOPP! Grab them and run for it!"

Zoro's shout stopped him, froze him in place. The swordsman was alive?

He dropped his arm and shook his head. Of course Zoro was alive. Of course he wouldn't stay unconscious even if one attack had caught him off guard. Of course. If he couldn't count on Luffy because of a devil fruit weakness, then of course Zoro was there.

The wolf howled, and Usopp saw that the currently swordless swordsman had his hands wrapped around the paw of the giant creature - as much as he could, at least - and he was squeezing with all his strength. It didn't last long, though, as the wolf retaliated and swatted Zoro away, but at least now the swordsman was free to fight.

Usopp shrieked a bit childishly as Zoro's body flew over him, ramming into the fountain behind him. The stones crumbled and Usopp slowly turned, still shaking, to watch Zoro push himself to his feet amid the dust and debris. Blood was staining the swordsman's clothes, skin, and white-washed stones around him, but at least now they would have a chance.

"Oi, Z-Zoro, what is that thing?" He asked.

The swordsman glanced at him, blood flowing from a cut on his forehead, crossing the lowered eyebrows, making the serious look of his even scarier than normal. "It's a fucking giant wolf!" He spat, stepping past the sharp-shooter to pick up the nearby sword, the one with the white hilt. Usopp watched as Zoro wiped the sword on his pants, then grimaced as if just realizing that he was covered in blood. "Oi, did you hear me the first time?"

"H-Huh?"

"Take these two and run for it," Zoro ordered, gesturing to the forest in the distance behind them.

Usopp blinked, looking the other way, toward the ocean where their ship was waiting for their return. "But…Merry's in the other direction…"

The look Zoro sent him made Usopp wave his arms in front of his face and start apologizing. "Oh, I m-mean it-it might be f-faster to go a-around a-anyway."

Spitting to the side, Zoro rolled his eyes. "Idiot, the wolf would eat you alive if you tried to go back to the ship from here. Take cover in the forest for now."

Then the swordsman moved forward, just one sword in hand, as the other two had been scattered away in different areas of the village courtyard. And Usopp was left with Chopper and a delirious Luffy.

He took a breath and mustered as much courage as he could manage. "Not to worry. The great Captain Usopp will find a safe place and we will wait for your return, brave soldier."

He didn't think Zoro heard him, because the swordsman didn't even turn around. Or maybe he was just being ignored as was usual. Being ignored was better right now, though; he could escape. And escape was his specialty.

~!~

_Beaten and broken and chased from the lair…_

~!~

As Usopp ran for cover, Zoro took Wadou in hand and stepped toward the giant wolf, eyes flicking around looking for his other two swords. He saw burning buildings, smoke-infested air, blood - his, most likely - staining the earth, but there was no sign of his other swords. Where the hell had they flown to when he'd been knocked down? He should at least be able to spot them in the area. But there was only Wadou, so there would only be one-sword style available. He cursed as he brought the blade up in a ready stance.

This was not going to end well.

Luffy was delirious, Chopper completely out of it, both taken out without a fight or warning, leading him to believe it was the devil fruit's fault. Robin was probably in a similar predicament in some place they couldn't help - her own fault for always separating from the rest of the crew, really. Sanji had been flung somewhere early on in the fight, probably without getting a hit in before succumbing to the strange creature's power. The scream he had heard from the cook had him worried, but not by much - the pervert cook should be strong enough to take care of himself.

It was Nami's disappearance that worried him the most.

She had been right here when he had left, and now she was gone. He had only left her for a few minutes, but in that short time she had managed to drift out of sight of the center fountain square. She had known something was wrong with the village; she wouldn't just disappear on her own. Would she?

He grit his teeth and tried to ignore the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. She was fine. She had to be. And if anything had happened to her, it was her own fault for pushing him away.

The wolf before Zoro howled, and he had to focus to stop from shivering as the temperature around him seemed to drop ten degrees. _What the hell? This thing can control the weather? What next?_

The ground shook as the giant creature took a step forward, its shadow now covering the swordsman. A large paw swiped through the air, but Zoro had already jumped to the side and was now running forward, sword out to slice through the back leg of the beast, if nothing else.

A loud _'cling' _sounded through his ears, and vibrations traveled up his right arm where his grip on the sword was the strongest. From the unexpected pain, he found himself dropping the white sword and falling to one knee, catching himself with his left arm. The wolf howled again, and he clenched his teeth as the cold swarmed over him, no longer able to be ignored.

With the ground shaking, the wolf turned, and Zoro forced himself to his feet again, kicking dust into the air, and taking Wadou in his left hand. His right arm was too numb to use, so he left it to hang limp and useless by his side. It was going to piss him off if he didn't get rid of the freezing pain soon.

The wolf attacked again, lifting a paw, being oh-so-incredibly-predictable as it attempted to step on him, but Zoro was watching and ready for it this time. He sprang backwards - and then stopped his momentum to change directions, jumping up and forward, flying high above the giant creature, intending to impale his sword through the spine of the damn beast.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the large, bushy tail shoot out behind him. He hadn't seen it move before, so he hadn't thought he would need to dodge it. Damn tailed giant animals. _Seriously, some of things I see out here just shouldn't be allowed to exist._

In a last ditch effort to deflect the huge wolf tail, he tried to lift his right arm, but it was still cold and unresponsive. And burning with pain. In the back of his mind, he cursed Luffy for choosing to land on another god-forsaken messed-up island, and then he saw nothing as he entered the realm of the unconscious for the second time that day.

~!~

_But I rise up above it_

~!~

The smell of smoke and burning wood welcomed him back to the world of the awake-and-breathing. A splitting headache decided to make itself known as he sat up, and a slight pain in his leg made him curse the stupid marimo for twisting his ankle - as if jumping off Zoro's back had been the _swordsman's_ idea and not his own. Well. He could still blame the idiot, if he so chose.

Sanji pushed debris out of his way - _'thrown into a burning building; some god really must hate me'_ - and started to slide between the broken door and weak wall, just in time to get thrown back inside, by a damnable green-haired swordsman nonetheless.

They hit the floor some distance back into the building, Zoro on top of Sanji, surprisingly empty-handed. Sanji let out a breath, glaring up at the ceiling, fighting back the annoyed anger as a piece of burning wall crumbled behind his head, dangerously close to his hair. "Oi, stupid marimo, if you're going to get thrown around like a rag doll at least aim at someone other than me."

He fully expected Zoro to stand up right away and curse at him with a shitty retort, but the swordsman didn't move. When he noticed the blood dripping from the green hair - which was resting on Sanji's chest at the moment - the cook started to worry.

Sanji rolled Zoro off of him, and sat up to start inspecting the swordsman's injuries. _'At least I know I wasn't the only one to get beaten by a giant animal.'_ He winced when he saw the amount of blood, and cursed when the ceiling started to collapse, a falling plank just barely missing the both of them.

Moving as fast as he could, he grabbed the shitty swordsman and pulled him up on his back, slinging the two arms over his shoulders, and then grimacing at the blood now soaking his hands. "Shitty marimo, you better not be dead." He got a groan for an answer, and felt the breath he had been holding expel all at once in relief as he moved to the crumbling door, dodging falling wood as he went.

_At least he's not dead. That giant wolf thing has some sort of barrier. Apparently, even the shitty swords of the shitty swordsman can't cut through it, and there's something strange about its monster strength, too. Knocking the both of us out? We just got done fighting a fucking __**god**__, and we can't beat a shitty giant wolf creature? _

_Something is definitely wrong with this place. _

Before he could kick the door down, it burst into flames and ceased to exist. Sanji ignored the thought that told him he should have been caught by that flame burst being as close as he was, but the hooded stranger now facing him took all other thoughts and tossed them to the side.

He found himself blink twice when he met golden-tinted eyes, reminding him eerily of that giant wolf. "Who are you?"

The stranger shook his head, moved to the side, and made a "follow me" gesture. Sanji was about to ignore him and walk in a different direction, but the loud keening howl of the giant wolf - his brain was on 'auto-accept' at the moment, forgetting to question the insanity of such a thing existing - and the collapsing building around him made his decision for him.

So he followed the hooded stranger, who could very well have been their enemy in disguise, but what choice did he have at the moment?

~!~

_High up above it_

~!~

Robin sat in a wooden chair in a cramped room filled with books - one of which was in her hands at the moment - and glared at the stranger sharing the space with her. He had dark skin, even darker hair, and gold-tinted eyes. When he had finally removed that hood, she had discovered that he also had strange wolf ears on the top of his head.

At the moment, the stranger was on the floor in front of the room's only entrance, his legs crossed, his hands resting on his knees, and his eyes closed. The ears were still, and his breathing was calm.

Meditating. Most likely.

While she sat here, annoyed, confused, and borderline angry. "Why can't I leave?"

His lips parted. "One of the Users is useless against the Great Okami spirit."

She assumed 'user' meant a devil-fruit user, but how he had known she possessed one was beyond her. Setting the book in her lap, she sighed and tried another question. Attempting to leave would be pointless, not when she had come here for information anyway.

But that howling was making her worry.

"What's an Okami spirit?"

Still his eyes did not open. "I am one. Tsuchimi. Of earth. But the Great One is out of our control and is now terrorizing the village."

She stood up, the book falling to the floor. "Then let me out of here."

He did not move an inch, except to speak. "You must not leave my Aura. You can do nothing against the Great One, and He will severely damage your mind if you are not protected."

She lowered her eyebrows and clenched her teeth. "Then protect me."

"My Aura alone will not be enough protection against His." He paused. She cursed. "Your friends are coming."

Robin blinked. "All of them?"

He shook his head, opened his eyes with a flash of gold, and stood up - just as the door opened to show her Sanji carrying Zoro, and blood covering them both. "Just some."

~!~

_And see..._

~!~

Zoro woke to an intense pain in his chest. Broken ribs. More than likely. And that scar itched like a bitch. He went to move his arm so he could scratch at the bandages wrapping his chest, and sucked in air between clenched teeth, deciding he'd rather have an annoying itch than try to move that arm again. Thankfully, when he attempted to move his left arm, he got better results.

But something stopped him before he could remove the annoying bandages. A hand. Connected to an arm covered by a blue-striped dress shirt. Which was being worn by one perverted cook. "Of course the first thing you do when you wake up is try to remove the one thing we have keeping you from death, stupid marimo."

Zoro scowled in response and glared up at the shit-faced cook. The little light - candlelight - in the area gave the blond hair a glow, and he noticed that the cook was _not_ smoking for once. "Why are _you_ here?"

Sanji dropped his hands into his pockets and glanced away, but still he stood by the bed, as if daring Zoro to try to move again. "I had to carry your sorry ass out of a burning building, sneak past a giant fucking wolf, and then try not to fall off the stairs leading to this basement of a hideaway."

Zoro blinked at the information, then glanced around. He noted the candle sitting on a desk that was otherwise covered in large volumes, and the blood stains leading from the wooden door to his makeshift bed, which turned out to be a small table padded down with woolen blankets. A blue colored blanket lay scrunched up in the nearest corner, but otherwise there was nothing in the room - a rather cramped, stuffy, hot room at that.

"Where are the others?"

Sanji shrugged, looked away, and didn't answer.

The feeling that entered Zoro's chest had nothing at all to do with his wounds. He clenched his teeth and grabbed the cook's wrist, trying to force the damn pervert to look at him. "Where are they?" He repeated.

Still, Sanji didn't answer, and his eyes were on the door, refusing to look at him.

"Dammit, answer me!" He shouted, wanting to sit up and beat the information out of the cook if he had to, but a slight move forward had him sinking back to the covers beneath him, stiffening and coughing up blood as the amount of pain forced itself to be known.

When the short episode passed, he could hear the cook's shoes clicking against the wooden floor on the other side of the room, but he opened his eyes to raven hair and blue eyes and a familiar thin-lipped smile that he still didn't quite trust. "Fate seems to like making you suffer, Swordsman-san, at least as far as physical injuries are concerned."

He simply glared in response.

That smile stayed on Robin's face as she moved to the unoccupied chair and sat down, pulling a book into her hands and offering no information to explain why she was here - or where here was - or what was going on, though her eyes and smile insisted that she knew. Sanji paced on the other side of the room, not even bothering with an insulting comment for 'being an idiot marimo and trying to move with those injuries.' That alone would have set off Zoro's warning bells if the atmosphere in the room hadn't already set him on edge.

Finally, he turned his head to Robin, having already decided he wouldn't get any information from the cook - if only he could stand up and beat it out of the pacing idiot. "Why are you here?"

She looked up from her book, but she had turned the smile to a frown. "No where else is safe."

He tensed. "Then what about the others…"

Sanji made a whimpering sound. Robin glanced at the cook before turning back to face the swordsman and giving a straight answer. "We can't find them."

Zoro felt the blood drain out of his face. "But…"

"The village is gone."

"Gone?" He winced when he heard his own voice crack. "What do you mean 'gone?'"

"It means exactly that, stupid marimo!" Sanji snapped. "The village is empty, gone. Nothing is there; nothing at all. The fountain? Not there. There aren't even any wood piles left where ruined, burnt buildings _should_ have been. It's almost like that fucking giant wolf came and took everything back to the hell it came from, leaving absolutely no trace."

As Zoro processed the information, Sanji's annoying shoes finally stopped clicking against the wood. The cook fell against the wall and slid down, covering his face in his hands, and moaning something about 'failing Nami-san.' While the cook moped, Zoro had the worst news that no one had been able to voice finally hit his own mind.

"If everything's gone, then the others…" He started, but was unable to finish.

Robin was there to supply the rest of his thought, filling in the details his own mind was having a hard time accepting. "They've disappeared, too. We can't find anyone. No matter where we go or how far we search."

"That's not the worst of it," Sanji mumbled.

Robin glanced over at him, then back to the swordsman, her frown almost apologetic. "We can't leave this immediate area, either."

Zoro felt his eyes widen. He spun his gaze to Sanji. "So that's why you're here."

Sanji scoffed. "Yeah. Do you think I would stay here and look after your sorry ass while Nami-san is in danger?"

Zoro narrowed his eyes, feeling the pain in his chest strangely move down to the pit of his stomach, just at the notion that Nami was in danger. "She can take care of herself," he managed.

But Sanji knew him better than that. "Yeah, right, like you believe that."

Zoro would have jumped up and smacked him, but the barest hint of movement seemed to cause a ridiculous amount of pain, so much so that he couldn't force his body to move. His mind was willing to take it, but his body never did seem to be able to take as much as he wished it could. If he could have moved, he would have forced the cook to stop moping, forced the archaeologist to stop researching at a time like this, and forced himself to find a way out of this trap.

But he couldn't move. And it seemed like it would be a long time before he could do even that much.

_Fuck._

~!~

_End Chapter 2_

~!~

_A/N: Ah hah… Luffy point of view next chapter! And more Usopp. And maybe even some Nami to hint at her whereabouts. If I feel like it. (My OC villains are so deliciously overpowered; I love it; I love putting characters in impossible situations and discovering how to get them out of it.)_

_4000-ish words this time. I tell you, I tend to stay in the general region of 3k-4k words per chapter. _


	3. Chapter 3

**Author Notes: **Point of views for this chapter: Chopper, Luffy, Sanji, Nami, and Usopp (FIVE? Yeah, I know, five, heh) This is still the "first chapter" of my original outline - I decided to put more to the beginning, and it's taking longer than I thought to get them from unplanned point A to planned point B. I'm trying not to rush the pace, and yet it still feels rushed to me. This chapter is also the longest of the three so far. Also, there is a bit of a time-skip in the middle of this chapter; it happens between Luffy's section and Sanji's section (a day or two ahead).

**Reviewer-Replies: **(because I can)

_GreenCyberWolf_ - Hehe and it's only just begun! Glad to see you're enjoying it ^_^

_Markiimon _- Yeah, I've been told I need to work on description. Sorry about that; I will work more on it. I write thinking specifically on what the characters think or do and not so much on what they see. Glad you still like it though! Hehe, Usopp is 3rd on my list of "favorite Strawhats" and I do miss him when he doesn't get much of a spotlight in other stories.

_KairiYajuu_ - lol Don't cry too much now!

_Rizzz_ - Thanks! I like OC villains more than heroes, too, and especially a lot more than "pairing-OC"s - those OCs that are created just to have a pairing with their favorite character. I'm glad the "darker" edge is coming out; I am intending a mysterious dark tone, so really glad to hear it's coming out.

_Akrim_ - I sent you a PM to answer without revealing anything, but glad you like it so far (and sorry you don't like the ZoNa bits but there'll probably be more because I do intend to hop between all three pairings with Nami before having Nami choose ;) )

**Disclaimer: **I really think it's pointless to say every chapter "I don't own One Piece" because by now it should be so obvious (though I do wonder if animal-loving Oda would like my wolf-OC-inserts), but ah 'tis the general rule of fan fiction to make a disclaimer so there it is.

**Warnings: **This is where it enters "dark and weird," I guess. Hallucinations and stuff. I am so evil sometimes. (Or have they already been seeings things from the beginning, I wonder? Hmm…) Oh, and everyone's going angst-y apparently, or so says my sister.

~!~

Save Me

~!~

Chapter 3: Elements and Users

~!~

_Is your secret safe tonight? And are we out of sight?_

~!~

He knew something was wrong…

"_Chopper, oi, Chopper, can you hear me?"_

He could breathe. He could smell. He could see. But he couldn't move. And it was dark.

"_Oi, Luffy, not you too!"_

He knew something was wrong. He wanted to tell the voice that he could hear. He wanted to ask about Luffy. He wanted to ask what was going on. But he couldn't talk.

"_Damn it…"_

He couldn't hear beyond the voice. And his memory wasn't telling him the person behind the voice. His brain wasn't working. Something was wrong. Everything was too slow. Even his thoughts were slow. He couldn't think.

"_What am I supposed to do?"_

He wanted to ask the voice what was happening. He wanted to answer, to say he could hear. He wanted to see what was wrong with Luffy; if something was wrong with their Captain, he wanted to fix it. He was the doctor, after all. He could remember that much.

But he couldn't recognize the voice. And a part of him, a very small part, was yelling at him because of it.

In the darkness, he could see a yellow flame, moving back and forth, running in circles around him. He could almost feel the fear, but it came from the flame, from the voice, not from himself. He felt calm. Strangely so.

In the darkness, he sat, arms between his legs, eyes squinting to try to see more. But there was just darkness. And the yellow flame.

In the darkness, he waited. He watched the yellow flame blink around the darkness, for that was all he could see. He could smell gunpowder and smoke, and it seemed to get stronger the closer the flame got to him, but that was natural. The fear increased the more the flame moved, too.

In the darkness, he felt numb. Not cold, not exactly, just numb. Dead. As if he had died and this was what death was like.

Even with the thought, he wasn't frightened. Still calm. And he knew that was wrong.

"_Oi, take these two and run for it."_

A green flame joined the yellow. He watched. And smiled.

'_Zoro,'_ his mind said.

He could remember that much. Green always meant Zoro. Even without the smell of steel. He knew it was Zoro.

But he didn't know the yellow, and he knew he should. He couldn't put a name to the one who smelled like gunpowder, and he knew he should. He couldn't move, couldn't talk, could barely breathe now, and he knew he should.

The green flame left. Disappeared. And he was alone with the darkness and the growing yellow flame.

He wanted to scream, the sudden fear assaulting him. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. No air went into his lungs. He began to feel pain in his chest, in his arms, in his legs, in his nose, _everywhere_. Pain. Tears came out of his eyes.

"_Oi, Chopper, what's wrong?"_

The yellow flame touched him and the pain increased, but only for a moment. Air came. And he screamed. Before sucking the air back in. The darkness started to melt.

He closed his eyes, feeling sick in his stomach. Feeling came back to his body. The numbness chilled over and became cold, simply cold. Then warm. Then hot. Island humidity.

He was on an island, not in darkness. He felt his body clinging to someone else, felt his arms wrapped around someone's hip, which was jostling with movement as if the someone was running. With a pop in his ears, he could hear. The sound of life. Buzzing of insects, chirping of birds. Normal sounds. Familiar sounds. Sounds that seemed almost new to his ears because they had been absent for so long.

"Chopper?"

Usopp! The voice was Usopp! How had he forgotten?

He opened his eyes and gazed up at the long-nosed sharp-shooter of their pirate crew loving the warmth that he felt in his chest when he remembered where he was, who he was, what he was doing. He had a home, a family, a crew, and he was exploring the world, searching for a cure for all diseases. And he had friends. Nakama.

He smiled, big and deep. Usopp stopped running and he jumped off, but Usopp didn't smile back, and when Chopper had his feet on the ground again, he could look around and see why. Luffy was unconscious, having been slung across Usopp's shoulder, now being laid on the grass.

He started screaming and running around in circles. "Oh no! Luffy's hurt! Get a doctor!"

Usopp glanced at him, a sweat drop hanging from his forehead. "You are the doctor."

"Oh, right," Chopper muttered, feeling a little ashamed for his outburst. He needed to get rid of that reaction; it was so childish, and it showed how little confidence he had in his own abilities. As he moved to Luffy's side, noting the slow uprising of his chest and flush to his cheeks, Chopper glanced around quickly at their surroundings - somewhere deep in the forest, being surrounded by trees and underbrush rarely meant anything else. "Where are we? And where's everyone else?"

Usopp sat down, legs trembling, having tensed at the question. "Well, see, there was this giant wolf…"

~!~

_Or will our world come tumbling down?_

~!~

_Nami…_

He had seen it happen. He had watched her go. He had watched them take her.

Reaching up an arm, he grasped at the empty air, closing over nothing, though his mind told him she was there and his eyes told him he was wrong. Then his eyes saw her, wide-eyed, orange hair slowly following her collapsing body into the shadows. He reached out; he was close. He knew it. He had to save her.

But then there was darkness again.

Darkness and wind.

Heavy wind.

Then he stood on a cliff with the wind pushing at him, throwing the hat back, having him ever-grateful for the thread by which his straw hat hung by. Rain pelted at his face, his ruffling clothes. It was dark. Dim. He looked out at the ocean, and at dancing flames in the distance.

Clenching his hands into fists, he screamed, knowing Nami was out there. Nami was gone, taken from him, stolen from him. How could she let them take her? How could he let it happen? Why had he fallen apart just as she needed him? Why had this happened?

She was so far away now. Taken. By strangers in hoods with yellow eyes and evil intentions. He knew. He knew everyone. So far gone. So far.

Still, he called her name. Again, and again, and again, until he ran out of breath and collapsed into grass, into darkness.

Why couldn't he wake up? He should be awake. He should be chasing after her. Why couldn't he open his eyes? Why couldn't he breathe? Why did it hurt?

_Nami…_

He had felt something wrong, or rather, something different, but he thought he would be able to handle it; he had thought he could trust Zoro to watch Nami, because Zoro had felt something wrong, too. So he had decided to enjoy himself, because life only happened once and if he ran around worried about everything that was out of place, there would be no time for fun.

Even Nami had known there was something wrong. Especially Nami. She worried about things when she felt them, but she was good at noticing when things were bad.

And she had made Zoro leave…and she had gone to talk to the strangers… and then…

And then…

And then he had fallen, feeling his body freeze, then burn. Feeling nothing. Seeing nothing. He had forced himself awake once, just in time to watch them take her. Just in time to scream her name.

But then he was gone.

And he was still gone.

She was gone.

So far gone.

So far.

_Nami…_

"_Oi, Luffy!"_

Usopp's voice. He tried to speak. Tried to tell them to search for Nami. Tried to warn them. Tried to…

"_Luffy!"_

Chopper. He grimaced, managed to move a hand beyond the numb pain. Managed to open his eyes and see their shaking eyes staring at him. He managed a grim frown. Managed to force himself to his feet without a word as they backed away, thinking he was okay now. He managed to put his hat on his head and turn toward the direction of the village, or the general direction at least - he could see a trail through the thick brush as if someone had pushed their way through.

"We have to go back." He said.

And then he collapsed forward, slamming his face on the ground, feeling the string around his neck pull up as the hat resisted the sudden trip downward. He entered darkness again, and screamed at himself for being weak and unable to simply get up and find his navigator. The others would be fine, should be fine; it was Nami that was in trouble.

And it was Nami he couldn't reach.

_Nami…_

~!~

_Will they find our hiding place?_

~!~

Sanji looked around the cramped area, keeping the blue wool blanket wrapped around himself to fight off the cold. That stupid marimo was asleep, hogging the only surface that could even be construed to be a bed - a flat rectangular wooden table covered in blankets. Which the shitty swordsman had already ruined with his blood.

He glared at the sleeping swordsman, hating the man for being so easy-going about their situation. They were trapped. Trapped like huddling rats in a basement that "supposedly" kept them safe. If what Robin said was true, though how Robin knew what was safe or not, he had no idea. And the raven-haired beauty wouldn't answer Zoro's questions or his own when it came to where she got her information.

She was reading now, but the candlelight was probably barely enough to read by. She had taken the chair and refused to move the books off the other table in the room, and he had relented. He assumed she slept, but whenever he was awake, she was too, and always reading.

Once, she had not been in the room, and he had panicked, worried about another of his nakama disappearing. He had shaken the shitty swordsman awake, nearly cracking with the stress of being separated, but Zoro had simply yawned and muttered an insult when Robin had returned to the room to simply smile and shake her head. Sanji had then crumpled up in the corner and gone back to analyzing their situation.

He had no idea how many hours or days had passed by. He just knew that he was in hell. Away from cigarettes - when he had reached for the ones in his pocket, he had found them missing. Away from Nami-san and the rest of the crew. Being stuck with Robin wasn't bad. Being stuck with the marimo was a nightmare.

His suit was ruined, crisp and crinkled around the edges, but still he wore it. Because despite the small area, it was _cold_. It was warmer outside, and that made little sense. They were underground, no windows, no possibility of cool breezes. It shouldn't be so cold down here.

Growling profanities to himself, he decided it was time to have a look around outside again - and his body said it was time to relieve himself anyway. He stood up, letting the blanket drop to the floor, adjusting his suit and tie by habit, grimacing at the burnt edges and holes in his jacket. Robin glanced up. Zoro actually opened his eyes. Both asked the same question without saying a word.

Sanji grit his teeth and headed for the door. "I need some fresh air, and another look around."

Robin nodded, but he could read that look in her eyes. _'You won't find anything new.'_

He fought back the urge to glare at her - it wouldn't do to glare at a lady - and opened the door, finding himself face-to-face with a now-familiar hooded face. Golden eyes peeked out of the shadows of the hood, bright and curious like a child. Sanji scowled and shoved passed the as of yet unnamed stranger - who wasn't a stranger anymore except for the fact that he hadn't said anything and was always watching.

Always watching like some kind of guardian.

Sanji froze in his steps, halfway up the darkened staircase, hands in his pockets. He blinked and looked over his shoulder, seeing the strange hooded golden-eyed mute freak making as if to follow him, but keeping a certain distance between them all the same. The face tipped up and he saw a smile, as well as a canine snout with a wet nose. His mind made the conclusion: _wolf_.

And he blinked again.

He stared for a good long moment, but the strange person - creature - made no other movements. With a grunt and a shrug, Sanji turned back around and kept moving up the staircase, ignoring the sound of extra footprints, ignoring the fact that they sounded like large padded feet - maybe paws - hitting the stairs. He reached the end of the staircase and pushed on the trapdoor above his head; so they weren't really in a basement; it was more of a storm shelter than anything.

Once he was back on the empty surface - empty save for sand and small patches of grass - he stepped away from the door and relieved himself before picking a direction and walking. There was nothing to see. Nothing to hear. Even the wind was absent. The sun worked, though. It beat down, hot and insistent. If he was cold underground, he was hot as hell up here.

Unbuttoning his jacket, he tried to wave some air around, tried to cool his now sweating body. The heat was just ridiculously sweltering. The area was too much like a desert, too much like Alabasta, for it to make sense. This hadn't been what the island was like when they first arrived. It had seemed to be an autumn island with a possible swampland climate, as far as Nami and Robin informed them, warning Luffy not to wander into the nearby forest in case he came across the possible swamp.

But now, it was a desert.

_What the hell. I hate this place._

Sanji's thoughts were interrupted when his foot tried to move forward and met a wall. He looked up and grimaced. An invisible wall. This was why they were trapped. So they had kept the truth from the shitty swordsman so far - not like the marimo could do anything anyway. Sanji had a feeling that if he couldn't kick the invisible barrier down, and if Zoro couldn't damage that giant wolf creature… Well… he had a feeling the two were connected in a weird, this-doesn't-make-sense way.

Because nothing about this island made any sense.

With a frustrated cry, he slammed his hands against the invisible barrier, trying to smash his way to the other side. He could _kind of_ see beyond the barrier. It was fuzzy and tilted weird, as if he were looking at the edge of water. The refraction of light was making everything seem…off.

But he could see the forest beyond. And the smoke drifting into the air from the tops of the trees in the distance. He had been to the other side of the barrier, and seen the cliff that hung over the ocean where their ship was hopefully still waiting for them. But he couldn't see much into the distance. And he couldn't see people. Never people. Or animals. Or life, in general. Just the smoke that indicated life existed somewhere.

He kicked out at the barrier, hoping it would work this time. Praying it would work this time.

But it never did. He was never strong enough. And it hurt to admit such a thing.

"That won't do any good."

The strange voice startled him, and he turned with his leg still raised to smash into the unbreaking invisible barrier. Just behind him, the stranger stood, the hood still covering his face and the cloak edges hanging just above the ground - come to think of it, the cloak looked as burnt and singed as Sanji's suit did. Like his mind had suggested earlier, the stranger had paws for feet instead of what should have been there.

He lowered his foot, instinctively reached his hand into his jacket to search for his cigarettes and scowled when he came up empty-handed. "So, you talk after all," he muttered.

The stranger nodded, once, twice, three times. His golden eyes still seemed bright, like an excited child. But he didn't say anything else.

With a sigh, Sanji lowered his arms to his side and leaned back against the 'wall' behind him. "Who - or what - are you?"

The stranger smiled and lowered his hood, revealing the wolf features. The long snout, the golden eyes, the sharp fangs in the mouth, the fur replacing skin, the wolf ears on the top of his head replacing human ones that would otherwise be on the side. Sanji blinked. And accepted it. So much else had happened, he found that he was too exhausted to otherwise complain.

"I am Okami. I am called Hiomi. Of fire. And you are my User."

It was this moment that he would have taken the cigarette out of his mouth and breathed the smoke out as he let his mind process what had just been said. But of course, he had no cigarette. So he could just stare up into empty space and think.

That was when the anger came out. Here he was, trapped away from his nakama. Trapped for days, most likely days; he had lost count of the hours, he assumed it was days. And he seemed to be the only one cracking from the stress of _not knowing_. Not knowing if the others were okay, alive even. Not knowing what was going on. Not knowing if he was dreaming.

Finally, someone had come to him, offering information. This asshole of a wolf freak who had led him away from the others in the midst of the _giant wolf attack_. Well, the wolf freak _had_ led him to one of his nakama - to Robin, but Robin was just as lost. Just as trapped.

And marimo didn't seem to care at all.

The stress just kept piling up. Piling up and bubbling inside of him. Turning to anger as he shouted at the other two. They had started to ignore him. Even Zoro had started to become quiet. Maybe that was a sign that the shitty marimo was worried after all, but Sanji wasn't about to notice. He was too trapped within his own cycle of thoughts. Within his own cycle of anger.

So, as he tried to process the ideas: _Okami? User? Hiomi 'of fire'?_

And the anger broke out at not understanding. He reached forward and grabbed the stranger - no, the stranger had a name now, _Hiomi_. He cursed and spun around, slammed Hiomi against the barrier, not caring when the wolf freak cried out and coughed.

"What the fuck does that mean?"

"You are - you should be -"

But the wolf freak didn't get to continue. Zoro's voice bled through the anger. "Oi, shitty cook, what the hell are you doing?"

Sanji turned his head to glare over his shoulder, seeing the green-haired swordsman standing there in the desert, watching him with a perplexed look on his face. Zoro had his arms crossed, and he grimaced when he shifted positions. Sanji didn't even think about telling the shitty marimo to go back down to the basement and not move around with his wounds; no normal person could heal that fast; hell, not even Zoro should be able to heal that fast.

He just shouted back. "What the hell does it look like I'm doing? I'm trying to get information from -"

Zoro didn't even blink. "From who?"

Sanji was about to spout off insults about how the shitty marimo must be losing his eyesight and how ever would they find a blind swordsman helpful, but the wolf freak spoke, his voice sounding choked as if Sanji was squeezing too hard on his cloak collar or something. "He can't see me. Only my User can."

That was when the shock and the anger and the fear from all the days collapsed onto his brain all at once, overloading, and he dropped his hold on the wolf freak to fall to his knees and stare off into the distance. He could hear Zoro yelling at him. Could feel hands on his shoulders, shaking him. But he couldn't answer.

He could only laugh. And cry. And laugh and cry. A constant cycle.

_Unbelievable. I'm going crazy._

~!~

_Is this our last embrace?_

~!~

"All right, little navigator, get us out of here."

Nami glared up at the cloaked werewolf-wannabe before her. This guy and his entire crew of werewolf-wannabes had kidnapped her - for lack of a better term - and then demanded she get them off the island, as if they couldn't do it themselves. At first, she had scoffed and told them to do it themselves. How hard could it be to sail off into the distance anyway? What kind of moron got trapped going in circles around one island? (Her mind answered '_Zoro and Luffy'_ but she ignored it).

But her 'disobedience' had only earned the beatings that left her body bruised, cracked, and bleeding. Apparently, this pirate crew - for they had to be pirates, with a wolf flag blowing at the top of their main mast - didn't care for chivalry. Apparently, they had no problems beating a woman. And apparently, they would do whatever they had to, to get their way.

She already hated them. This just made it worse.

Still, Nami refused to give them what they wanted. Her arms were wrapped around behind her, stretched painfully and tied to the mast. She sat on her legs, which were bent and going numb from lack of circulation. Even if she managed to untie herself, moving would be rather difficult with both arms and legs numb, tingling, and useless. The downpour of rain drenched her, soaking her already thin beige-colored shirt and brown Capri shorts.

This storm was everywhere. Everywhere, and yet nowhere. She couldn't explain it. The truth was, even if she wanted to get them out of this, she had no idea where she was or which direction was out. This storm hadn't been here when she'd suggested they stop for supplies - or when Luffy had insisted they visit the island - but it seemed to be acting as some sort of barrier, keeping all who entered the island trapped here. From her guess, these strange werewolf pirates had been stuck for far too long and were now resorting to less than savory methods to get free.

Which included kidnapping and beating a navigator who should have known better than to approach these strangers herself.

Nami sighed.

_Oh, Luffy, you were right to call this place a Mystery Island for once. Trouble is, can you solve the mystery and get me out of this mess?_

-Flashback-

"_It's an island! Look, Nami, it's an island! An island up ahead!"_

_While Luffy celebrated and ran around jumping for glee, announcing the news to the rest of the crew, Nami put her hands on the railing overlooking the front half of the ship. She stared forward, not believing what she was seeing. Her senses were screaming about a storm - that's why she had called everyone out, to be ready for it. But there was nothing._

_Nothing was wrong. Nothing was out of the norm._

_Except for the fact that __**she**__ had been wrong. There was no storm. Just an island. An island with a mountain chain in the distance, spouting smoke into the sky. With what looked like…swamp-type trees just beyond the beach, which was overshadowed by a huge cliff where black birds were zipping around. _

_Something was just…off about the whole thing._

_Robin had noticed her put-out mood. "Is something wrong, Navigator-san?" _

_She turned to the raven-haired woman and tried to ignore Luffy as his rubber arms stretched across her vision, landing on the sleeping Zoro, as his exclamations made obvious. "There shouldn't be an island there. It should be a storm instead."_

_Robin tilted her head and smiled. "A Stormy Island perhaps?"_

_She bit her lip and turned back to face the island, noting that smoky clouds could very easily mean a storm encompassing the entire island. But that was just… She sighed. Lifted her arms up as she shrugged and shook her head. "I guess."_

_Luffy bounced up to her next, landing on the railing right in front of her, causing her to step back in surprise. "Oi, Nami, is the island on your map?" She shook her head, not enjoying the grin that spread across his face. "Then it's a Mystery Island!"_

_She nodded, "I guess…"_

"_Yosh!" Luffy stated, jumping off the railing and landing beside her, wrapping his arm around her and pointing toward the island in the distance. "Then let's go on an adventure!"_

-End Flashback-

~!~

_Or will the walls start caving in?_

~!~

Usopp sat back after telling his story for what seemed like the thousandth time, digging his hands into the earth beneath him. He felt hot, the sweat running down his signature long nose to drop as gravity took control. It was cooler under the forest trees, covered from the sun, but it was still hot. Sticky. Humid.

Chopper was staring at him with wide-eyes, as if he had changed the story from the first time, at least until Luffy murmured something. A name. A name he kept saying. "Nami…"

For some reason, their captain had fallen to an illness. An illness that Chopper couldn't diagnose. An illness that had _Luffy_ trapped in fever dreams.

It set Usopp on edge. First the giant wolf. Then seeing Zoro getting beaten. Taking Chopper and Luffy and running for his life. He must have been lucky as hell to make it to the forest, lucky as hell to not be chased, lucky as hell.

Except nothing about Luffy's condition was lucky. It had come so suddenly and it had left their usual strong and reliable captain moaning on the ground, speaking to someone who wasn't there. So there was no one to lead them. Chopper was too young to lead, and he did keep looking at Usopp for direction. With Luffy out of it, who else was there to lead them?

_Yosh, it's time for Captain Usopp to show his worth._

Grimacing at the idea, Usopp stood up and faced back the way they had come, back toward the village. They had been in the forest for too long. Luffy wasn't getting any better. They had been somewhat lucky so far. Between Usopp's sharp-shooting skills (hitting down birds) and Chopper's knowledge of plants, they had found herbs to help with Luffy's fever and food to keep themselves alive. But the scavenging and the hunting and the living out in the wild… it was all starting to become too much of a habit.

He wasn't sure how long they had been out here, but Zoro had never come to look for them - or, knowing the swordsman's direction sense, he had gotten lost and bled to death. Usopp felt his face pale at the thought. That was something he did _not_ want to come across. Hopefully it was just his imagination running wild and not some weird fortune-telling sense.

"Usopp?" The question came from Chopper, who was sitting next to Luffy, his eyes worried and wishing he knew what to do.

Usopp bit his lip, coughed down the cowardly shakes, and faced the direction of the village again with a nod of his head. "Yosh, I think we should go see what happened. We'll never reunite with anybody if we stay here. After all, Z-Zoro's the one who told me to run here, and he has terrible direction s-sense, so they probably j-just can't find us even though I left a trail."

Chopper grinned hopefully and nodded. "Yeah, that must be it."

Taking a deep breath, steeling his senses - and taking a moment to hoist Luffy on his back - Usopp forced all of his fears to the side and took a trembling step back towards the village. Back towards the giant wolf. Chopper followed as they slowly made their way through the forest undergrowth.

At one point, a rabbit crossed their path and stopped to stare as they went by. Usopp only noticed because there had been a mysterious absence of other woodland creatures. He could hear birds - and see them occasionally to hunt. He could feel the bite of insects and hear their buzzing in his ears every once in a while. But other creatures? Squirrels? Rabbits? Until now, those had been mysteriously lacking, and with the amount of time - days? - they had spent in the forest, he thought it strange that this was the first time to notice a rabbit.

And why did it have to watch him like that?

Shaking his head, Usopp threw away the silly, imaginative thought that maybe the rabbit was like the giant wolf and was a spy animal, sent to spy on them in the woods. That was just his crazy imagination running away with him again. Of course. There was no reason to suspect such a cute, harmless little thing.

He turned back to get another glance at the brown rabbit, but it had already disappeared into the bushes. So there was nothing abnormal about it. He really needed to get back to the rest of the crew. His mind was already playing tricks on him and making him scared for no reason at all.

Luffy moaned, "Nami," again, nearly whispering it across Usopp's neck, but he said nothing else.

Usopp clenched his teeth and kept moving forward. "Don't worry, Luffy. We'll find her. We'll find them." And with those words, they were on the edge of the forest, looking down at the ruined village in front of them.

The debris of the central fountain stood out in his mind, and the lack of any life in the area. He frowned, feeling his hopes fall. He had imagined coming out of the shadows of the trees to find his friends waiting for him around the fountain, the last place he had seen any of them. After all, there wasn't much of a chance of finding them in the piles of wood and ash where buildings had once stood.

Well, he shivered, hopefully there wasn't a chance. That would mean they were…that they were…

Usopp shook his head. He would _not_ let that thought enter. He refused to believe in it, and he refused to even think it.

"Hey, Usopp, I see them!" Chopper exclaimed, running down the slight hill and angling to the right.

When Usopp looked in that direction, he felt the grin split his face. "YOSH! O-OI! ZORO! SANJI!" He shouted their names as he ran down the hill, too, but he could only run so fast with Luffy on his back. He didn't want to disturb his feverish captain too much.

He didn't start to worry until he was almost on top of his two nakama. They hadn't looked up or even appeared to notice them at all. And Chopper had stopped right at Sanji's back, and his hooves were slamming at air. Neither Sanji nor Zoro - who was looking right in their direction - appeared to notice they existed.

Usopp didn't stop until he slammed into the invisible barrier, his nose bending awkwardly at the impact. He dropped Luffy and joined Chopper in slamming at the invisible wall. It didn't make sense. And it frightened him.

No matter how much they screamed, or how much noise they made, or how much they banged on the barrier separating them, the two didn't even look up. And then Sanji stood up and started _walking away_! With Zoro beside him, grimacing and holding his side.

As his two nakama walked away, Usopp felt himself fall to the ground in disbelief, breathing heavily. "What's wrong with them? Why didn't they…?"

Chopper was crying. "Zoro's hurt. I need to fix those bandages. They probably have no idea what they're doing." His little hooves were starting to bleed with the effort of trying to get through the barrier. "Let me through! Let me through!"

Usopp reached out and pulled Chopper to him, intending to stop the little reindeer from injuring himself in his grief and helplessness. "Oi, Chopper, it's not working. We have to think of something else."

Although he offered the words for comfort, and although he forced himself to be strong for his nakama, he had no idea what he was going to do next. Luffy was still out of it, still moaning in feverish dreams. Chopper was crying, having a hard time understanding all that was happening. And they were separated from the rest of their nakama by some - for lack of a better word - _magical_ invisible barrier.

What was he supposed to do? And how long did he have until another giant wolf came out of nowhere and decided to terrorize them some more?

~!~

_End Chapter 3_

~!~

_A/N: 6000 words this time. And I did have the urge to split it but I held it back, because I didn't want to split the song lyrics I was using. _


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